10 upcoming TV shows that may seem familiar

10 upcoming TV shows that may seem familiar

After The X-Files, Limitless and Minority Report hit TV screens this year, American networks have plenty more adaptations in the works, with projects to bring all kinds of past hits to the small screen for the 2016/2017 season.

Leathal Weapon

With Rush Hour scheduled for March in the US, Fox is giving another famous buddy movie franchise from the 1980s and 1990s a new lease of life on the small screen. Damon Wayans (My Wife & Kids) has been signed up to star as Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover in the movies, but a replacement for Mel Gibson is yet to be announced.

The Exorcist

Fox will be bringing a well-known story to the small screen with its adaptation of The Exorcist. The TV version will be based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, distancing itself from William Friedkin’s 1973 movie. The series is billed as a psychological thriller following two very different men as they tackle one family’s case of terrifying demonic possession.

Taken

NBC is reviving a more recent movie franchise with its prequel to Taken. The series follows a young Bryan Mills – the movie’s hero, originally played by Liam Neeson – as he learns his spy skills. The series has been ordered directly by NBC for the upcoming season, so it won’t be debuting with a traditional pilot episode.

Cruel Intentions

NBC is also interested in rebooting this 1999 movie based on the French novel Dangerous Liaisons. The network is apparently trying to coax Sarah Michelle Gellar back into her original movie role. As yet, there’s no word on whether Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Philippe and Joshua Jackson have also been invited back to the cast.

Training Day

CBS has reportedly asked Ethan Hawke to star in its TV adaptation of Training Day, headed by Antoine Fuqua, the director of the original movie. The small-screen version will be set 15 years after events in the movie, but will keep the film’s basic premise, following a young rookie cop and his corrupt detective coworker.

Frequency

CW has enlisted the help of the Supernatural series creator to turn this 2000 movie into a TV adaptation. Dennis Quaid’s original role will be revamped for 2016, as a female police detective finds she can communicate with her dead father via amateur radio. The pair then work together to clear up an unresolved murder case.

MacGyver

The cult 1980s hero is being revamped for a big return to the small screen. The new series follows Angus MacGyver – played by Richard Dean Anderson in the original series – in his 20s, when he gets recruited to a clandestine organisation to solve problems in his typically unconventional ways. CBS has not yet announced which actor will be playing the legendary agent.

Prison Break

Another major comeback sees brothers Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows return in a new series of Prison Break, scheduled for late 2016. Seven years after the series was cancelled by Fox, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell are stepping back into the lead roles, alongside other familiar faces from the show, such as Sara Tancredi (Sara Wayne Callies), Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell (Robert Knepper), Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar) and Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco).

24 Legacy

Fox is reviving another of the network’s past hits with a reboot of 24. Instead of bringing back the original lead character, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), the 2016 version follows Eric Carter, a new recruit to the anti-terrorist cell, played by Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton), as he tries to thwart what could be one of the most deadly attacks on American soil.

Nancy Drew

The amateur sleuth and star of a popular series of novels is coming back to the small screen in a CBS adaptation. The network is looking to modernize the story by casting a non-white actress as Nancy Drew. This contrasts with the last screen adaptation, which saw Emma Roberts play Nancy Drew in a 2007 movie. – AFP Relaxnews